Lil Dish – Dangerous

Lil Dish’s “Dangerous” pushes new wave rap to a new level of hyper-fun and quavering energy. With a recurring rhythmic-and-melodic looping vocal on an auto-tune high that blurs the distinction between hooks and verses, combined with a repetitive dreamscape synth pad motive in the high-end, and warbling 808 stabs in the low-end. This is definitely a release for the parties this summer.

KF Greatness – Humbled Recognition

When you hear that a 19 year-old artist has been recording for only 2 years, you don’t expect the kind of maturity that KF Greatness showcases on his new release, “Humbled Recognition.”

An 8-track release, “Humbled Recognition” delves into the essence of the grind in the face of adversity. KF Greatness’ almost Kendrick Lamar-esque voice sounds 10 years older than he is, and his lyrics too successfully express a wealth of life experiences, relationships, obstacles in the way of success, with clever wordplay and seasoned flows. KF Greatness’ voice has a lyricist percussiveness, with an ability to penetrate melodies through a natural throat distortedness. His verses make virtuosic lyrical maneuvers sound easy, and his hooks slam.

The beauty of catching KF Greatness at such an early stage is that song after song, you feel the hunger, the work, the grind, the raw energy, and a clear focus on what he wants… fiery passion shining through a very humble and calm, external expression. He’s not sitting back in any chair lavishing in his success… yet. He’s seeped in the life of the come up and blending all of its experiences into a new kind of salad.

The honesty and humbleness is probably most indicative in the song, “Honest,” where he states, “I’m just being honest, no time for games, I gotta run it.” But turn on the release straight from the first track, “Curious,” and listen through till the end. You’ll be glad that you caught this artist so early. Keep an eye out for KF Greatness.

Ben Green – High Notes

Carrying forward the same vibrant energy as his debut single Change Up, Ben has recently revealed his second single, High Notes. It’s a track that exemplifies his versatile and multifaceted signature sound, laying its roots in layers of smooth, typically RnB instrumentals and very stylized vocals. It’s a sound that shines a brilliant light on Ben’s rap game, bringing a clarity and heightened anticipation to the delivery, amplifying the track and making an indelible mark on the listener.

Emerging from Venice, CA and at only 19-years of age, the aspiring rap/hip hop and R&B recording artist delivers up a versatile and multifaceted signature sound and style with his witty rhyming techniques and next-level dynamic vocal projection. Determined to make his mark in the music industry, Ben Green has no intention of slowing down his momentum anytime soon, and has hit the ground running since emerging into the game.

Some artists learn music, others are born for it. Ben Green fits this bill. As an artist that has sustained an insatiable passion for songwriting, music always came easy to him, and also became a form of therapy and spirituality. This ultimately became the foundation and cornerstone to Ben Green’s career, and he hasn’t looked back since.

Ben has always loved hip hop and the powerful messages that can come from lyrical content and skill level. His mastered craft and rhyming skills are well-placed, well-paced, and bring his artistic merit to the forefront. His music is also reminiscent of many musical inspirations and artist influences over the years, including industry heavyweights like Eminem, Lil Wayne, Kodak Black, Mac Miller, A Boogie, and several others.

SlickMick – Dance With a Car in Pattaya

SlickMick, a 22-year-old rapper from Sydney, Australia recently had a bad accident, got hit by a car had a bleed on his brain and was put into a state of post-traumatic amnesia for several months, losing the ability to make new memories. He wrote this song and edited this video in order to share his experiences, and it has already received a good initial response with over 60,000 views and over 100 positive, supportive comments. In his track, “Dance With a Car in Pattaya,” SlickMick freestyles over the beat to Immortal Technique’s “Dance With the Devil” in a very raw, honest and heart-opening fashion.

Archetype – All Scams or Fall

June 2018 hits us hard with the release of Miami Dade rapper Archetype’s 8-track release, All Scams or Fall. Crispy flames spread across the opening “Ten Toes,” a slow-to-midtempo, pumping 808 booms with spacey-funk piano chord lines, and crunchy smacking hats, snares and kicks – a Southern trap vibe enveloping the entire release. A meditative, hypnotic uniformity spans the release making it easy to zone into the flow. Already the 2nd, 3rd and 4th tracks, “Wat U Tryna Do,” “Zone / Wats Goin On” and “2 Chainz,” lock the listener into multiple pulsating layers of connective interplay between rappers, the M.U.D. Brothers—Archetype and GoGetta Zoe—with each voice and instrument carving out its own space, fluctuating to the front, middle and back, while the spacious percussive piano and drum give-and-take smooths out a landscape with bass consistently throbbing the heart, and wah-wah guitars and pad synths fluidly stroking the mid-range. “Chase” comes in with a change of effect, a dark documentation of tension and violence, undertoned by a relentlessly repetitive semitonal keyboard frenzy and an 808 poking around an octave. “Zone / Huh” showcases Archetype’s Southern rap prowess, his stab-slur rhyming flow meshing with the kick and 808, with square-saw synths waving around them, continuing the hypnotic drive of the album all the way to “Bandss,” the voice clearing out in the middle talking the social environment around the music and its players, and the first shiny appearance of a flute glossing out the atmosphere of rattling percussive drums, piano and synths. What makes All Scams or Fall such a captivating release is the way it hypnotizes you into its pulsating stabbing yet smooth vibes, with its deep layering of multiple voices and instrumentation that always integrate successfully, and gives the frequent tension-and-release of everything that makes textbook Southern Trap the business.

Clint – Free Smoke

Clint doesn’t just step into big shoes, he spin kicks in them. His music video single riding over Drake’s “Free Smoke” cuts straight through the clutter to demand its unique space. There’s a confidence and certainty to his style, which jabs syllables and punches combinations that create frequent accelerating and decelerating rhythmic accents, transitioning on your earlobes sometimes as his speed bag, sometimes as his sponge ball. The statement of Clint’s “Free Smoke” take clearly brushes aside the unnecessary baggage in his life and aligns him directly at center stage to speak from the podium. The time Clint spent away from working on his own material reached a distinct “Fuck this shit” point where the no-turning-back energy manifests itself sharply and coherently. Even the freest smoke needs to have a light source.

David Shabani – “Bullsh!t” and “Texas Sky”

Austin City Lights is David’s 2nd full studio album, following black hoodies. It describes his life moving from Canada, Montreal, Hamilton, to Dallas, and eventually Austin to find his new home. The two tracks are “Texas Sky” an upbeat dance hall summer song that can be played at any function, but also includes Shabani’s lyricism. “Bullsh!t” is a newly released track, just hit 5,000 plays on Soundcloud and featuring Shabani’s lyricism at scale with him talking about the “real life” of a rapper and not a glamorized picture… for instance when rappers say they’re fucking everyone’s b*tch or they have half a mil around their neck, when their net worth is much less than that. His full album Austin City Lights is set to release in July.

Dreamin Big – In America

Dreamin Big, a hip hop collective from Southern Louisiana, consisting of Randy Rambeau, Mr. Kardiac and Blakk Thomas, revive the boom bap to criticize the American socio-political climate. The single and music video “In America” highlights the state of helplessness and desperation people today are finding themselves in when faced with the wide range of problems hitting society in the supposed “land of the free”: the increasing division and tension between left and right, the fake news media, drug abuse, oppression, violence, racial tension, lack of governments’ ability to govern. In the footsteps of hip hop revolutionaries like 2pac, Public Enemy and Nas, Dreamin Big are continuing the tradition of bringing hip hop’s commentary on the world we’re living by clearly packaging the crisis-to-helplessness state America is finding itself in right now.

MARC FRVNCIS – SNOWED IN

Marc Frvncis’ “Snowed In” peels away, track by track, a multi-layered inner world of a rapper making sense of a state of constant change where he drives a focus on the luminous pearls shining in a murky, smoky landscape. Digitally synthetic minor saw sweeps, electro-cello like sustained bass notes and chord stabs set an overcast, still weather, and Marc’s floating monotonic vocal delivery ranges in emotion subtly hidden within the fabric of influences that make emotional repression a socially acceptable norm. Other than “She’s a Star,” the other tracks share a ballad-like similarity, fueling the beats with confessional narratives, articulate among an airy haze of MKSB’s beats. The title track, “She’s a Star,” cries hopelessness from the opening descending melodies, countered by Marc’s rising energy from the dredge like throwing a thumbs down at the city, “She’s a savage, and she ate it,” the nonbelieving lawlessness making cracks in your perceptual base. 5 stars to the death.

TrèsRose – Rebirth

TrèsRose beams up this uptempo, fun party jam blend of EDM and trap with his track, “Rebirth.” Syncing layers of driving rhythmic patterns, electro-brass synths, squealing lead saws, running closed ‘n’ open hats interchange, booming, shifting 808s, and the party claps and shouts, “Rebirth” is here to make you bounce.

Nate Brnz – All Day

Nate Brnz brings on a sonic palette of brooding ambiance and emotional static in his track, “All Day.” Like an audio photo of a delicately layered 3D space of repetitively sliding melodic licks, slurring 808 bass, and Nate’s decaying chilled out vocal expression, “All Day” shows Nate Brnz merging with his beat into a backroom atmosphere of careful construction.

Chosen CTW – The Heavens

South Carolina native artist currently living in Virginia, Chosen CTW, lights up a fireworks display of lyricism in his new single, “The Heavens.” Atop a driving, rolling beat, Chosen CTW constantly pours his flow like a waterfall with lyrical mastery emphasizing the way an artist can center on hip hop and rise to greatness through his focus and determination on his self improvement. Keep an ear out for more by Chosen CTW.

MitchSimply – Put Me On

MitchSimply’s “Put Me On,” produced by Mikuda, is a rolling inspirational track, with MitchSimply’s lyrical attack over a synth-bell, almost African style beat by Mikuda.

EDDE6D – Puttin On

1Luv – War for Peace

1Luv pours out a lyrical onslaught in revolutionary spirit on the war for peace, to break free from systematic oppression and racism in the ongoing will for freedom.

J Maddix – Washed Up (Diss)

J Maddix lays it to ’em hard with his diss track, “Washed Up.” Pure angst energy blowing through the mic from J Maddix together with the backing pumping brass.

NOOK Turner – She A Pro feat. Just Brittany and Kstylis

NOOK Turner with Just Brittany and Kstylis brings this club banger for all the ladies who like to work it.

Reignbow – The Fight Song

Reignbow’s inspirational track “The Fight Song,” featuring Dragonfly, aims to ignite you to realize yourself fully and make the most out of life against all the odds. Traverse Reignbow’s and Dragonfly’s uplifting verses and her catchy hook over a serene, chill beat.

Dubbrich – Black Flag

Dubbrich’s Black Flag is an urban rap album that leaves you feeling a supportive uplift of a creator that wants to inspire people.

From the opening lines of the title track, “This tape is for my people, all of my people, hope we see equal,” the album runs a consistent theme of a person who seeks the positive paths to tread in an urban environment full of opportunities to stray from a positive path.

The dark, digitally synthetic atmosphere of Dubbrich’s selected beats, smoothly blends with his depictions of the urban dark side of dealing with stick ups, drug selling and haters. All the while, in the city’s struggle emerges the fuel to move forward with your art, the gratitude to the sources of support in your life that helped you move ahead in the face of many possible times when life could’ve all gone the wrong way.

Freddy ING – Local Touri$t 3

“Ain’t no clock on my wrist but I know that I’m ready,” raps Freddy ING on the third cut from his album LT3 (Local Touri$t 3). The sharp wordplay fit into the YA-da-da-YA-da-da-da rhythmic speed bag punching style, Freddy ING’s words carry strong with his confident, distinctive, lyrical delivery. Listen out first for featured tracks “So High” featuring the lush, sustained melodic BeeHoney’s hooks blended with the bouncing piano and chilled percussive beats of George Young, and “Ready,” an urban landscape of metaphoric references with a forward driving groove that motivates making the most of the daily grind. “Feel Good” and “Concrete Rose” burrow deeper into Freddy ING’s world of relationships and experiences. Production and featured artists are varied and give a lot of color to this album, supportive Freddy ING’s distinct delivery, but the tracks with producer George Young stand out with that indefinable extra click that carries through powerfully.

M.C. Martin – Borne Back Ceaselessly Into the Past

M.C. Martin’s debut album, Borne Back Ceaselessly Into the Past, is an endeavor into hip hop’s many sides. Lyricism, constant wordplay flipping, love for hip hop new and original, and straight having fun all link together in a vitalized outpouring over 18 diverse tracks.

There are two ways of loving hip hop that stand out when listening to this album: the one where you hear a constant, hypnotic flow running over chill beats, with those vocal samples emerging and submerging into and out of the background, and you just lock into that flow based more on the kick and snare boom bapping. Then, there’s that slight effort you make to activate your brain above the beat flow, where you lock into the lyrical flow, and everything you hear is this dope lyrical ride, with those moments of “ayyy” popping out every now and then.

TN Butchers – 12 Gauge or 12th Grade

Tennessee Butchers’ “12 Gauge or 12th Gauge,” from the album, The Sound of Violence, boldly brings to the surface what more and more hip hop artists are shying away from today, which is… hip hop. That is, TN Butchers feels the growing crisis the world is in, and instead of creating music as a distraction to it, is aiming to raise awareness of the problems as a means to improve the situation. A big kudos to TN Butchers for making the move to take out the garbage, and try to clean this house we all share.

Kyle Joshua – By Myself

Kyle Joshua is back with another late night viber over the ethereal atmospheres, vibraphone style synth, and dark sharp 808 stabs of Jay 808. The “wax on wax off” wave style beats together with the delayed and reverberated vocal sampling and repetitive vocal rhythms get you hypnotized in its smooth flow, fading you in and out of its vibe.

Fool Boy Marley – OH BOY!

Fool Boy Marley’s “Fool Boy Oh Boy!” fires up the summer straight from Detroit. A looped bassline and snare hits set the scene for Fool Boy Marley’s feel good vibes to blaze any party.

Young Ferragamo – JUGG

Young Ferragamo is coming out hotter than summer with his summer anthem, JUGG. JUGG is a track where the hook quickly carves its way into your head, while the 808s throw your whole body up and down. This is one for the club DJs to start playing ASAP and then make its way into hip hop’s playlists soon after.

MoNL Music – The MoNL Project

New York natives, MoNL Music, are flipping hip hop over to the next page with “The MoNL Project.” The artist and producer collective out of Brooklyn and Queens is determined to bring back real hip hip among radio and club bouncing productions. The four tracks of this project, “No Giving Up,” “Deep Down,” “Skunk & Thai” and “Come Up” embody a diverse universe of rich club beats, lyrical mastery, feel good party vibes and conscious subject matter. “The MoNL Project” rises above the mainstream/underground/RnB/conscious barriers by drawing from the very core of hip hop: the collective consciousness.

Also, here is the music video to “No Giving Up”:

Kyle Joshua – Booted

Boston rapper Kyle Joshua’s “Booted” is the perfect end-of-night-at-the-club track or a track to simply chill to. Kyle Joshua and producer Dutchboy sonically paint an atmosphere that drowns all the work, stress, dealing with haters and daily life shit in the high: “I’m booted, I’m faded, I’m gone” will ring in your head for days.

Lode – Club

Italian rapper Lode lays down energized lines over a full bodied old school style beat in his track “Club” from his album, HH24.

Fhaze1 – Rebound

Deep southern urban grind at its finest. Fhaze1’s “Rebound” is one of the featured tracks from Fhaze1’s album, “Hostile Takeover,” now available from CDbaby.

Charles Luck feat. Tino Red – Is the Galaxy Pimping Me?

Charles Luck’s “Is the Galaxy Pimping Me?” featuring Tino Red wraps together a pop, acoustic and synth combo with a sweet hook and subtle rap wordplay, bringing an optimistic feel good atmosphere to Luck’s play on one of life’s recurring questions.

Bellionaire – Project Pat

Bellionaire’s exploded into the scene with her HOT debut track, “Project Pat.” This isn’t just fire, this is honestly the best club banger I’ve heard in a long time. I’ve been playing it over and over for an hour since I first played it. Club DJs better be getting this on their playlist quick.

M.C. Kenna – Fire

“Lyricism is a thing of the past but, fuck it, I’m bringing it back.” M.C. Kenna’s Fire, produced by AT, digs a unique spot where you thought there was none left: in the funky, feel good, positive vibe hip hop style with braggadocio lyrical content. M.C. Kenna’s twists some fine wordplay through his syncopated flow. Keep your ear locked on his words and you’ll hear some top plays that’ll make you smile.

And the 44faced Nicest Lyric Award in this track goes to…

People thirsty, you a mirage,Shots fired, I duck and I dodge,Get it, ’cause I’m out the garage,I father the flow, raising the bars